Portrait of a Man

In this canvas of the early 1650s, the figure's pose follows a pattern Hals employed twenty years earlier, but here the arrangement is more frontal and contained. The resulting impression of reserve or authority is relieved by the relaxed expression, and perhaps by the French fashions of flounced sleeves and colorful ribbons at the waist. Vivid brushwork and the nearness of the foreshortened hat add to the portrait's immediacy. (http://www.metmuseum.org)